The invention relates to hair dryers in general, and more particularly to improvements in portable electric hair dryers. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in hair dryers of the type wherein a housing confines an electric motor which drives an impeller or another suitable rotor in order to induce a flow of air from an inlet of the housing, past an electric heater, and to an outlet of the housing.
It is known to provide a hair dryer of the above outlined character with a first insulating carrier for motor contacts, with a second insulating carrier for the electric contacts of a heater, and with permanent connections between the contacts of the two carriers. It is also known to use the carrier for heater contacts as a means for supporting the heater. Reference may be had to the aforementioned commonly owned copending patent applications. The helices of the heater are recessed into marginal notches of the respective carrier in such a way that the major portion of the heater is not contacted by any mechanical part and can readily exchange heat with the body of air which flows from the inlet to the outlet of the housing. The carrier of motor contacts is normally secured to the front end wall of the motor housing and extends into the interior of the heater. The carrier of motor contacts can further support one or more regulating and/or switching elements in the motor circuit.
It is presently customary to solder the contacts on one of the carriers with corresponding contacts on the other carrier. The soldering operation is time-consuming and contributes significantly to initial cost of the hair dryer. Moreover, such connections between the contacts on the two carriers establish a permanent bond between the carriers so that one of the carriers must be discarded if the other carrier is to be replaced. The bond is rather weak so that it cannot invariably ensure extraction of one of the carriers in response to extraction of the other carrier or vice versa.